


When No One’s Around

by SherbetLemon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Big Spoon Keith (Voltron), Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Sick Lance (Voltron), Sickfic, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21853021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherbetLemon/pseuds/SherbetLemon
Summary: When Lance gets poisoned by a foreign fruit Keith is assigned the task of taking care of him.Keith isn’t sure if he’s cut out for this.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 406





	When No One’s Around

**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads up, Lance does throw up in this fic, it’s not in detail but it is there so please be aware if that’s not your thing ♥️

  
‘Do not eat’ was a pretty clear directive in most cultures. Earth was certainly one of them, or at least that was what Keith had thought. As it turned out, there was always an exception to the rule, and that exception was usually Lance.  
  
“Ugh it hurts!”   
  
Lance was whining. Had in fact been whining for an hour now. And about fifteen minutes into the whining, the crew had had enough, organising a meeting to sort out said whining. Now all Paladins were in one place and Lance had a whole room of people to listen to him whine. So why, Keith wondered, was the boy draping himself over him?  
  
“Hold me.” Lance whimpered, crawling up the sofa and onto Keith’s arm. He was like a spider trying to drag prey into his den. Keith was not prey.   
  
“Get off.” He hissed, wriggling his shoulder out from underneath Lance’s dead weight. Credit to him, the boy didn’t struggle but he didn’t simply fall off either. Instead he sort of juddered around like a dying fish, bouncing painfully between Keith’s side and the sofa until he slid down and his cheek slammed the bottom cushion.   
  
“Ugh,” He moaned, not bothering to get back up, “why can’t you ever support me?”   
  
Keith scoffed. “Why can’t you just follow orders?”  
  
Lance made a guttural noise. He tried reaching for Keith’s thigh but his hand was instantly slapped away. Keith wasn’t having that. The boy’s head was already far too close, Keith was barely able to ignore its presence. But physical contact? There was just no way he could not notice...  
  
As if sensing the predicament Keith was in, Hunk cleared his throat, drawing attention away from the whiner.  
  
“In Lance’s defence,” he said, almost looking sheepish, “the sign was written in Wisling. He couldn’t really _follow orders_ as you say.”  
  
Keith squeezed his jaw. That was fair but also-  
  
“I’d argue he shouldn’t eat random crap he finds on foreign planets.”  
  
Pidge! Speaking the words Keith could only think. He found a feeling of kinship rise through his chest as he looked at her, sharing a meaningful nod.   
  
“Okay.” Shiro announced, in the sort of tone only an ex-teacher could master. “Lance made a mistake.”  
  
Keith let out a laugh.   
  
“An understandable mistake.” Shiro warned, glaring at Keith until he ducked his head.   
“But we should take this as a lesson. We may be feeling more at ease now whilst travelling, but we mustn’t take unnecessary risks. Hunk. Pidge. You’re working on a poison detecting scanner, correct?”  
  
“Yep!” The two chorused. Pidge swung her legs joyously under her laptop as Hunk sat forward with a little more agency at least pretending he took this as a serious job and not an excuse to play with computer software.   
  
Keith wouldn’t really be bothered if he acted more gleefully like Pidge but Lance was very pouty. In fact, the moment Shiro suggested the creation of a poison detecting device was the moment Lance imprinted on Keith like a needy baby duck. Now he thought about it, maybe Keith could afford to act a little more excited? Make Lance give him a moment of peace or two.   
  
“Lance,” Shiro cut in, ignoring the charade to his left to negotiate more serious topics. “Has Coran given you the meds?”  
  
“Mm-hmm.”  
  
“And they’ll kick in sometime in the next 12 hours?”  
  
A more pained “mm-hmm.”  
  
Keith almost felt sorry for him. Almost. But then Lance moved a fraction closer and the feeling fluttered away.  
  
“Right.” Shiro nodded to himself, a plan developing across his face. “Well, there’s not much else we can do now but wait. Lance, you can rest here if you want. Coran will check on you before dinner. Keith. Look after him.”  
  
“WHAT!?”  
  
Keith nearly fell off his seat. Why the hell would he be in charge of this useless lump!?  
  
“Your teammate’s ill.” Shiro said, exasperated. “The princess and I have to smooth things over with the native Wisle, Hunk and Pidge are busy formulating a poison detector, Coran’s updating his human database and-”  
  
Shiro made a point of eyeing the way Lance’s fingers were slowly creeping across the couch towards Keith.  
  
“He seems to have formed an attachment.”  
  
“THAT’S NOT MY FAULT!” Keith exploded, jumping to his feet, “you can’t leave me with him I don’t know what to do!”  
  
“Oh.”   
  
Shiro made a noise of understanding. He stepped forward, eyes turning kind and Keith let out a breath. He’d finally be spared this pain. But then the man placed a firm hand on his shoulder, squeezed tight and said, “you’ll do fine.”  
  
Then he strode out the room.   
  
Keith gawped. Shiro was not the man Keith thought he was. He was a bastard. A cold-hearted bastard. A bastard who left Keith stranded, staring into empty space with his cheeks flushing red hot.   
  
“Guess that’s sorted.” Pidge said, flatly.   
  
Keith flinched at the noise. Was she for real? Was this really sorted? Was Keith supposed to just spend the next twelve hours sitting next to a pathetic sickly slug unable to do anything at all?  
  
Fists squeezed at his sides, Keith spun on his heels ready to yell. But he stopped short.   
  
Pidge wasn’t even looking at him. The sound of typing had returned, as natural as rain on a window, and her glasses glistened with the blue laptop light. Beside her, Hunk was humming, pointing out bits and pieces on the screen and making notes as if Keith hadn’t even been in the room at all.   
  
Then there was Lance. Curled up in the middle of the sofa, his arms were pulled in close around his stomach as he blinked wearily up at the other.   
  
Keith sighed.   
  
“What do you need?”  
  
“A hug.”  
  
Keith clicked his tongue. “What else?”  
  
“Ke-ith.”   
  
Lance rolled his head against the sofa cushion, looking about as comfortable as a man lying on a bed of nails. “I’m in pain.”  
  
Keith frowned at his feet. He wanted to tell Lance that he should have thought about that before eating poisonous fruit. In his honest opinion, this was simple cause and effect and Lance should be suffering from his bad decision. Keith was in no way responsible for dealing with the fallout. And that’s the mantra he held onto. Even as he walked the length of the room, plonked himself down on the cushion and let out an exasperated, “there!”  
  
A moment of hesitation followed. One in which Keith was acutely aware of his huffing breaths and the way his heart ricocheted off his ribs. Then Lance moved. He tilted his head up, honed in on the emptiness of Keith’s lap and slowly shimmied up the sofa, plopping his head down on the soft fat of Keith’s thigh.   
  
“Better?” Keith forced out, able to feel the sharp ends of Lance’s hair tickling his skin even through thick denim jeans.   
  
Lance only hummed, snuggling in closer. Keith’s face flamed. The only time they’d ever been this close was during training and then there was so much adrenaline pumping through Keith’s body he barely spent the gesture a thought. Now he was hyper-aware.   
  
Keith moved his other leg awkwardly trying to get comfortable against the now brick-like springs. He didn’t know where to put his hands. One lay on the armrest which was fine. Normal. Even if it did feel a little exposed. The other? That one had no idea what it was doing. It flitted between his chest, the top of the couch, his other arm, the seat behind Lance. None felt right. Did it usually go on his lap?  
  
He looked down and almost started. Of course. Lance was there. He knew that. Obviously. Lance had just moved there. Temple resting heavy on Keith’s thigh. 

His breathing was even, eyes shut, expression almost serene - nothing like the wild fire engulfing Keith’s very being. His hair was messy though. Not just the haphazard parting but the tangles too, curls clumping around hiss forehead like sheep’s wool. Keith lifted his hand. Was this crossing a line? Lance had said he wanted comfort, but was this right? Keith shook away the thoughts. He was too far now. So he placed his hand on Lance’s head and let out a sigh. That felt right.   
  
He began teasing out the knots, letting the fluffy strands fall between his knuckles like snowflakes and realised, it didn’t just feel right. It felt _nice_. Like entering a cosy cottage on a windy day. And when Lance let out a little sigh, Keith blushed, re-doubling his combing efforts to hear more. So engrossed in their quiet grooming, he forgot he had an audience. That was until Pidge spoke.   
  
“Cute.”  
  
Keith started. Pidge had been watching them. Was still watching, eyes gleaming above squished cheeks. The typing had stopped, replaced by Hunk’s not so subtle giggling, and it framed perfectly Pidge’s widening grin. Keith looked down. Saw his position. Saw Lance’s position. And his body erupted with heat.   
  
“IT WAS HIS IDEA.” He yelped, jumping to his feet and flinging a bewildered Lance to the floor.  
  
“Okay?” Pidge offered, but it wasn’t in a nice way. It was in a bad way. A kind of derisive way, a way that said she knew better and always knew better and Keith was an idiot for thinking otherwise and-  
  
“LOOK AFTER HIM YOURSELF!” Keith roared. This was Lance’s problem. Not Keith’s. And he wasn’t going to stay there getting made fun of when there were two perfectly good care-givers sat right there! He was done playing games. So Keith stormed out. And didn’t take a second look back.

  
  
~✿~

  
  
Keith didn’t leave his room for dinner. He listened for the tapping of footsteps passing by indicating the paladins heading to their beds and only then did he venture out.   
  
The ship was quiet now. The lights were dimmed, only the safety guidance system switched on, a series of little glowing arrows lining Keith’s path like fireflies. It was cold too, but Keith couldn’t be sure whether that was a by-product of night mode or a consequence of the eerie emptiness making him shiver.   
  
Then there was a bang. Keith froze. The air stilled around him, dropping a few degrees cooler. He looked around, the corridor feeling bigger than before. There were no extra lights on ahead, no sign of life. Keith listened for noise but there was nothing, just the puffing of his breath’s against the silence. So Keith blamed the pipes and kept moving. Then he heard it again. A clank. Echoing, but somehow muffled. There was shuffling. A pained groan. Keith reached for his sword.   
  
The sound was coming from the bathroom door, sitting slightly ajar, no light shining inside. Keith crept forward. Placing his hand against the metal, he took a deep breath. Lance had always said it was weird to carry a weapon round on a ship you lived on. Now Keith could make him eat his words.   
  
Throwing the door open, Keith tore into the room shout hanging off his tongue. But it never left. Because, in front of him, kneeling on the tiles, arms hugging the toilet bowl, was Lance. His face was pressed into the cotton of his pyjama top, and he groaned, weakly pulling at the toilet flush above him.   
  
“Oh.”  
  
Lance barely reacted to the sound. He turned slowly, like it ached his bones, and squinted at Keith, eyes red rimmed and skin puffy.   
  
“Told you I was ill.”  
  
Then he lurched into the toilet bowl. Keith scrambled forward, falling haphazardly to his knees, fumbling for words.   
  
“You’re okay,” he heard himself say, the voice of Shiro echoing round his skull. He reached out to rub Lance’s back, the action somehow natural despite having never been in the situation before.   
  
The last time Keith had thrown up was when he was eleven. He’d snuck into an untested simulator at the Garrison and was severely under prepared for the G-forces. As soon as he’d left the machine, he was coughing up his guts. And to add insult to injury, Shiro was right there, arms crossed and waiting to catch him red handed. Keith should have known that booting up a random simulator in the middle of the afternoon would catch eyes. Then again, it didn’t matter when his usual strategy was run. But this time, Keith couldn’t. He was too ill. And before Shiro could open his mouth, Keith was opening his.   
  
He remembered crying, convinced Shiro would never forgive him, their days of flying over. But instead, Shiro had let out a sigh. He scooped Keith’s hair out his face, softly offered his support, and stayed put until the nausea passed. Keith was still in for a bollocking afterwards of course, but, for those first few minutes, Shiro had put aside his anger and helped a boy in need. And Keith would always be thankful.   
  
“I’m right here.” Keith whispered to Lance, manoeuvring into a more comfortable position on the floor. For some reason, it felt important not to let his touch leave Lance’s back. “Just let it out.”  
  
He pushed matted hair out of Lance’s face, laying his palm against the boys forehead. It was warm, and damp. That couldn’t be a good thing could it? Lance groaned loudly, falling heavily onto his arm again.   
  
“You took Coran’s medicine, right?”   
  
It was a stupid question, Keith wasn’t even sure why he asked. Still, he began bouncing his knee as he awaited answer, circles on Lance’s back becoming a little more manic.  
  
“I did.” Finally came the answer, Lance peeling away from his arm to give Keith a scathing look. It didn’t bother him though, Keith slumping against the tiles as relief flooded through him. Of course, Lance would take his medicine. It was silly to think he wouldn’t.   
  
“Not sure how much has stuck around though.” Lance added, bringing Keith back down to reality. He was letting out a hollow laugh and it sounded wrong, the sound missing all its usual bounce and warmth.   
  
“Still…” Keith offered, trying to find an end for the sentence. It didn’t come.   
  
“It’s fine.” Lance sighed, sitting up like a propped up puppet. “It’ll be in my system by now. Besides, it’s more that I keep-”  
  
He lurched forward and Keith immediately sprung forward. But nothing happened.   
  
“Keep thinking about it.”   
  
Lance collapsed into Keith.   
  
“Uhh…”   
  
Keith blinked down at the boy. He was shaking. But his body burned against Keith’s chest. His face was pulled taut, brows twitching over closed eyes as he clutched his stomach. And he looked small. Curled up against Keith like a baby cat. It was hard to picture the boy who usually ran into battle by his side, sunny face drawn into concentrated lines, determined to bring them back without fail no matter how scared he was. Keith was suddenly hit with a pang of injustice. He wrapped Lance up in his arms and pulled him close like a blanket.   
  
“What do you need?” He asked.  
  
Lance made a non-committal humming noise, shoulder rubbing against Keith’s chest as he shrugged. Keith but his lip.   
  
“You want me to get Hunk?”   
  
If anyone on this ship was good at comforting it was Hunk. And Keith wasn’t dumb. He knew this wasn’t his strength. Lance needed to be held, right? And who better to do it than Voltron’s resident hugger!? So it more than surprised Keith when Lance whipped his head around in shock.  
  
“What, no! You want two people throwing up!?”  
  
“Umm… no?”  
  
Lance rolled his eyes. Then he snuggled back down as if Keith was a bed, even tucking his arms around himself like sheets.  
  
“You’re doing fine.” He said, almost grumpily, huffing against Keith’s chest. “Just keep going.”  
  
Keith didn’t know how to react. He should have been telling Lance off for being demanding. Maybe drop him on the tiles for being so audacious. The problem was, a warm feeling was spreading across Keith’s chest. It stretched out, reaching into his toes and tingling in his cheeks. Keith didn’t yell. Instead, he squeezed Lance tighter, hiding his smile in his hair.   
  
“We should go to bed.” He said without thinking.   
  
Lance immediately stiffened. His fingers clung into Keith’s shirt and he shrunk down smaller, making Keith regret ever opening his mouth.   
  
“Or not?” He said awkwardly, rubbing his neck. “We don’t have to. I could- I’ll take you back to your room. Yeah. I won’t stay! No, I’ll just… yeah. I’ll take you back.”  
  
He started untangling Lance and getting to his feet, when the boy stopped him.   
  
“You didn’t mean that before?”  
  
“Huh?”  
  
Keith looked at Lance and quickly looked away. His wide eyes were too much. Gave away something like hope that Keith couldn’t afford to believe in.  
  
“Keith?”   
  
Lance took his hand and his heartbeat spiked. It was unnaturally fast in his chest, and Keith winced as he realised Lance could feel it too. Slowly, carefully, he turned back. And when he did, Lance offered him a shaky smile.   
  
“Can I sleep in your room?”  
  
Keith’s heart stopped. “S-sure.”  
  
The answer was more than sure but Keith’s throat was so dry he could barely manage that. He wanted to hold Lance. Tight enough for him to pop. He wanted to wipe that pained expression from his face and see him smiling like the sunrise once again, warm and relaxed, lying in bed without a care in the world. The feeling was so keen it almost scared Keith, his muscles squeezing tight with his desperation. But when Lance smiled, dropping his head shyly and looking up through his lashes, Keith’s bones melted.   
  
“Thank you.” Lance said quietly.  
  
“No problem.”

  
  
~✿~

  
  
Lance hung back to brush his teeth, leaving Keith to hurry back to his room, bees buzzing in his veins. He brushed aside stray socks, shoved his boots into the cupboard and flicked his duvet out into the air so it could float gently down onto the mattress. Then he collapsed on top of it.  
  
Was Lance really coming to stay in his room? Sleep in his bed? Share the same air? It seemed too sudden, too lucky. Like somewhere along the line Keith had wandered into a wormhole and ended up in some distant reality where Lance not only liked him but welcomed him and Keith should have been scared but instead his heart was fluttering like a butterfly caught in whirlwind and his breaths couldn’t quite settle down.   
  
“Hey.”  
  
Keith startled. Lance was peering into his room, body outside and head just crossing the border.   
  
“Hey,” Keith called back, and immediately he relaxed. Lance’s lips wobbled into a smile, but he stayed outside the room, bobbing up and down like a floating otter unsure of what else to do. “You coming in?”  
  
“Uhh…” Lance’s cheeks bloomed like roses. “Yes?”  
  
Keith bit his lip so he wouldn’t grin. Lance was kind of a like a mouse. And it was so rare a sight, Keith couldn’t help prolonging it as he slid up off the bed, face carefully flat.   
  
“Wall or room?”  
  
Lance blinked. It was as if he’d been caught off guard and Keith almost laughed. Like he was going to kick the boy out now.  
  
“Wall!” Lance squeaked. Then he scurried past, diving head-first into bed so quickly he may as well have been a mouse.   
  
Keith walked a little more calmly, climbing in as if he had all the time in the world. He lay on his back, tugging the duvet up to his shoulders. Usually, he’d turn on to his side but the duvet was pulled so taut Keith couldn’t move if he tried.  
  
“Actually-“ Lance started. He had the sheet balled up right under his chin, so when he turned his head it looked decapitated. He really was very close. “I want room side.”   
  
And then, without warning, he threw himself over Keith.   
  
“Wha-!”   
  
In a second, Keith’s mouth was full of Lance hair, the boy jabbing his flesh with knees and toes, scrambling to across him like a bridge.  
  
“Sorry! It’s just-“ Lance threw back his head, shaking his hair out his eyes until he could meet Keith’s gaze head on. They were very blue. “l’m a flight risk. It makes more sense for me to be that side ya know?”  
  
Keith could barely think let alone decide what made sense when Lance was pressed right up against him, every ripple of muscle detectable. Lance moved his hand the barest inch and it sent a hundred sparks scattering across Keith’s skin.   
  
“Sure.” He answered, surprised at how gruff his voice sounded. Lance didn’t seem to notice, mouth already set into determination once again as he scrambled for the right side of the bed. But it was a small bed. And Keith came to his senses just quick enough to grab Lance’s arm before he tumbled to the floor. 

“Thanks,” the boy panted, face inches above the mattress. He had stilled, which meant no falling, but he remained half in Keith’s lap. And that offered its own problem. 

Lance’s knee was dangerously high on Keith’s upper thigh and showed no signs of moving. Keith coughed awkwardly. Lance didn’t react. Keith waited, but Lance seemed stuck on pause, and Keith couldn’t wait any longer. So, after only another minute he carefully shimmied out from under the other boy and settled safely onto his side of the bed.   
  
Lance quickly came to his senses after that, scrambling into place. He wrapped himself up tight in the sheets, making a rush of noise before settling like a mummy. Keith blinked at him. Then he took his measly slither of fabric and tugged it across his body until it barely covered his chest. It was quiet a moment. Keith assumed this would be where they slept. Then Lance began kicking. 

He let out a huff, untangling his feet from the knots of his own creations so they dangled out in the open. The sight made Keith retuck his. How could Lance risk monsters pinching his toes like that?   
  
Lance seemed to settle then so Keith shut his eyes, listening to the rise and fall of his own breaths. It was strange having another person in his bed. Not only was it warmer but there was a feeling he couldn’t place. He and Lance weren’t touching, yet he could sense his presence. Like their auras were brushing against each other, unable to resist the magnetic pull. It wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, Keith was just relaxing into their shared space when Lance thrashed at the sheets once again. He huffed and puffed, flipping from one side to the other, twisting the sheets until they turned into a straight jacket. With a final groan, he threw himself back into the pillow blowing his fringe out his face like an angry horse.  
  
“You okay?”  
  
“Can’t get comfy.”   
  
Keith could hear the pout in his voice. He turned onto his side, observing the ridge of Lance’s lips. The boy really wasn’t having a good time.  
  
“Can I-?” Keith began, but hesitated. He really had become rather bold now the lights were out. Maybe he should slow down?  
  
“Can you what?” Lance asked, distracted by the mammoth task of unwinding his arms from the mess of sheets he’d created. The sight made Keith want to clutch his chest for some reason.   
  
“Lay on your side.” He heard himself say.   
  
Lance turned towards him, eyes betraying his confusion. Keith caught his shoulder.   
  
“Other side.”   
  
Lance huffed, leaning in to squint at Keith. But with only a minor sigh he flipped over, wiggling his shoulders until he deemed himself comfy.   
  
Keith took a deep breath. Lance’s shoulder’s were wide. The covers wrinkled around the top of them and sweeped low, leaving his back open to see. It was a nice back. Keith hadn’t really had the chance to observe it before. Not when it was usually covered in thick armour or hidden under a giant hood. But here, the thin fabric of his pyjamas hung loose on his shoulder blades and a small gap at the top revealed the smooth dent of his spine. Keith couldn’t stop looking at it. A part of Lance Keith had never noticed before. Had maybe never seen. He wandered how many people had seen this part of Lance. This specific angle. His tummy went warm.   
  
“Did you have a plan here or…?”  
  
Keith snapped back to reality.   
  
“Uh yeah! Just… stop me if you’re uncomfortable.”  
  
Then Keith crossed the gap. He scooped Lance into his chest, felt the barest flinch in his back muscles as their bodies settled together. And there he stayed, letting the warmth dissipate between them until the boy melted, relaxing into Keith’s arms.   
  
Lance was surprisingly solid, but soft where his hair tickled Keith’s cheek. And his breath’s rumbled. Right against Keith’s chest like strings on a double bass. And Keith felt the exact moment they hitched as he slid his hand down Lance’s side, brushing every hill of muscle until he could settle on the soft fat of Lance’s stomach like a hot water bottle.   
  
“This okay?” Keith whispered, scared of breaking the moment but careful of breaking boundaries.   
  
Luckily, Lance wasn’t so worried. He hummed softly, leaning back into Keith’s neck. “Yeah. S’nice.”  
  
Keith’s heart did a little kick. It _was_ nice. And he couldn’t help but snuggle in closer when he knew Lance agreed. His nose nestled into Lance’s hair, and he inhaled, shutting his eyes as his lungs filled with Lance. He barely noticed himself drawing shapes across Lance’s skin with his finger and thumb, but when the other’s weight shifted closer, Lance sighing happily, Keith embraced it, indulging in the way their bodies fitted tightly together. 

Keith wanted to savour this moment. Memorise every plane of Lance’s body until he could make a mould. But his eyelids were growing heavy and his breathing becoming slow. The tug of sleep was strong but he resisted, just long enough to hear the soft in and outs of Lance’s breaths become whistles, the boy falling into the gentleness of dreams. Only then, did Keith fall asleep too. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading~ ♥️ 
> 
> Can’t promise when there'll be a chapter two but it looks great in my head ( ^ ᗨ ^ ‘)
> 
> (P.S. I'll fix the formatting on Friday)


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